Lawson, Sask. elevator burned for days
By Kate Ayers
Staff Reporter
Farms.com
A 58-year old grain elevator was claimed by fire last week in Lawson, Sask. after a dust explosion.
“I saw a puff of smoke come out the top of it,” Blair Crowley, a local rancher, said to CBC. He drove by the elevator right before the fire started. Later, he could see the flames from three miles away.
“It was only a couple minutes, and flames were shooting out of the elevator.”
One worker was injured in the incident and was treated for burns in Moose Jaw. Fortunately, he is expected to make a full recovery, according to Saturday’s CBC article.
This video was posted by Corinne Newton Tuesday afternoon.
Doug Higginson, the elevator owner, thinks the dust explosion was caused by a spark inside the building.
Central Butte Feeds uses the elevator as a storage facility and has kept the building clean and well-maintained since they purchased it four years ago, according to the article.
“We spent a lot of money to make sure it wouldn’t become decrepit,” Higginson said to CBC.
“It’s so disappointing. It should have lasted another 100 years.”
The elevator had sentimental value for the surrounding community and people are saddened by its destruction.
“Most towns, they’ve knocked all the elevators down and that elevator stood right on the highway,” Crowley said.
“Almost every time you looked, someone was stopped on that highway taking a picture of that elevator because you don’t see them anymore … We hate to see it go.”